Kimi Antonelli took the Formula 1 world championship lead for the first time after winning the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on Sunday.
The 19 year old Italian is now the youngest driver in F1 history to lead the standings. He broke the record held by Lewis Hamilton, who first led the championship at the age of 22 in 2007.
Antonelli started from pole position but got a terrible start. He fell to sixth by the first corner as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took the lead.
The race changed when Haas driver Oliver Bearman crashed at nearly 310 km/h, bringing out the safety car. The impact hit 50G but Bearman was later cleared of fractures. Doctors said he had a right knee contusion.
The safety car timing made all the difference. The three drivers ahead of Antonelli had already made their pit stops that let the Mercedes driver pit under the safety car for a much faster stop and come out in front.
After that, nobody could catch him. He finished 13.7 seconds ahead of Piastri. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held off George Russell to take third.
Russell started the day as championship leader but did not hide his frustration. The safety car timing cost him a strong result, and he made that clear over team radio. He now trails his teenage teammate by nine points on 63 points.
Antonelli’s win keeps Mercedes’ perfect record going in the 2026 season. The team has won all three races under the sport’s new rules. Piastri also earned praise for his second place finish. It was his first completed grand prix this season after he failed to start the first two rounds.
Formula 1 now takes a long break until the Miami Grand Prix on May 3. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia rounds were cancelled because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
This gives everyone in the sport five weeks off with Antonelli leading the way as the youngest championship leader F1 has ever seen.
